Roche licenses Rona's ALK7 obesity candidate in $1.2 billion deal

Roche has agreed to license an RNAi drug candidate targeting ALK7 from Chinese biotech Rona Therapeutics, with an upfront payment of $100 million and potential milestones up to $1.06 billion.

The agreement places Roche alongside companies such as Alnylam, Arrowhead, GSK and Novo Nordisk that are pursuing obesity treatments focused on the ALK7 pathway, a protein linked to fat metabolism and waist-to-hip ratio.

ALK7 is expressed mainly in adipose tissue; genetic studies associate loss-of-function variants with lower abdominal fat, and animal models show that inhibiting ALK7 can protect against weight gain.

The deal does not disclose the candidate’s codename or development stage, but notes it will use Rona’s extra-hepatic delivery platform. Rona also has two other preclinical obesity programs with undisclosed targets.